Amazon Shut Out of FAA Testing Autonomous Drone Deployment

Amazon’s bid to test autonomous drones for delivery lost out to other companies when the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) announced on Wednesday that it has granted permission to 10 regions in the United States to begin tests, paving the way for such technology to be integrated into U.S. airspace.

“While it’s unfortunate the applications we were involved with were not selected, we support the administration’s efforts to create a pilot program aimed at keeping America at the forefront of aviation and drone innovation,” vice president of Amazon Public Policy Brian Huseman told Quartz in a statement.

The FAA in a tweet congratulated “10 state, local and tribal governments who will conduct flight tests as part of the #DronePilot program to advance safe #drone integration in our nation’s airspace.”